ALBION — Dan Conrad wanted only to open a business that would take him away from his other duties for a few hours here and there.
So in March he opened Toyz n Kandy in Arnold Gregory Office Building, tucked back off South Main Street.
The former hospital houses a few small businesses and professional offices.
For Conrad, it was perfect.
“My goal was for it to be part-time,” he said. “I didn’t know it was going to get busy and expand this fast.”
In September, Conrad moved his business to a downtown location on East Bank Street, across from Village Hall.
Now Conrad is operating the store full-time, putting in 50, 60 hours a week, including Saturdays and Sundays.
The store is a throwback, offering “nickel” candies (penny candies are long gone), non-electronic toys, books and a menagerie of other items.
Conrad said his inspiration was Fischer’s Newsstand, a longtime business on Main Street that closed in 2015.
“I wanted to bring that feeling back to Albion,” Conrad, 38, said.
Conrad is president of Lions Club and is on the boards of Hoag Library and Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance.
As the store has expanded, so has the inventory.
He uses the same wholesaler as Fischer’s once did and he has reached out to people, or had others ask, in an effort to sell locally-made products.
Among the items in the store are crafts from Sada’s Spirited Stitches and Such, items from Poppa’s Candles and body creams from Little Miss Lyla (See sidebar story).
“I’m trying to get more locally-made products in here,” Conrad said. “It’s important to support local businesses.”
(Toyz n Kandy is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
